No hope for Liberty
by joinee-a
Summary: A main branch Hyuuga turns missing nin. Can Team 8 and 10 stop him getting away or will the Hyuuga's well kept secrets fall into enemy hands?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

A/N This is a story about on OC of mine called Hyuuga Jiyuu. He's main house and a Genin. I'm trying to take a darker view of the Naruto world as well as explore what life as a missing-nin would be like. As such I've rated this M not for content that is yet in it but because I have no intension of glossing over the nastier aspects of life as a ninja (and I'm terrible at rating stuff anyhow). I know a lot of you want to read about canon charaters but please take the time to look at my work as I hope you'll like it (even if my spelling and grammar is terrible) I wont keep you any longer. Read, enjoy and if you have any comments feel free to post them.

No hope for Liberty

The yearly Genin exam had taken place only three weeks ago and Hyuuga Jiyuu was already prepared to leave. The dark haired boy was slowly making his way towards the outer wall of Konohagakure. Dressed in the traditional cream and black robes of his clan, various ninja tools about his person. He was struggling to keep his outward appearance calm, knowing that the slightest sign of something unusual would alert the shinobi of the village to the fact that something was wrong. To that end he had nothing too unusual visible, a pouch of shuriken on each leg, a pouch of kunai and another with medical supplies on his belt. The tools he really needed for the task ahead were concealed under the cloths he wore. Taking a deep breath to calm himself he continued towards his destination.

He'd chosen this place to leave from as only two Chunin would be close enough to respond in time once his cover was blown. With another calming breath Hyuuga Jiyuu prepared himself for what could easily be his last day alive.

Hiashi was annoyed. That pathetic excuse for a Hyuuga was meant to be here training. He was no doubt slacking off as usual, deluding himself into believing he could create a fighting style superior to the Juuken. When his aids dragged him back, as they always did, he'd give him the beating of his life. Nothing life treating but he wouldn't walk for a few days. He was determined that this one wouldn't turnout like his eldest daughter.

Jiyuu started making his way up the steps that lead to the outer wall guard tower. In his hand he held a plain looking scroll with a small seal on it. It was an important part of his deception. A low ranking ninja delivering a message was common enough so the guards wouldn't pay him any notice until it was too late. At least he hoped they wouldn't. Better still the forged seal was just good enough that they would examine it for a moment, making an opening for a surprise assault. As he climbed the steps he took care to make sure he would arrive standing between the two guards so he could make the twin attack he had prepared.

All too soon he was standing between two very board looking guards.

"A message from the Hokage." he said making sure to keep any sign of fear from his voice as he handed the blank scroll to the guards.

"It doesn't ha..." the guard started as he looked down and examined the seal, but as soon as he'd handed the scroll over Jiyuu leapt into action. In an instant activating his Byakugan and bringing his hands inside the sleeves of his tunic. He grabbed the senbon needles hidden there and flicked them out striking both guards in a number of precise points. A fraction of a moment later pulsing chakra down the chakra strings attached to the needles and into the tenketsu that they were lodged in. The two Chunin caught unawares by the sudden betrayal slumped forward, knocked out by the variation on the Juuken fighting style. As quickly as he could Jiyuu removed the more useful items the guards had on them, namely a few more shuriken and kunai as well as the flack jacket that looked like it would fit best. Jiyuu's heart was racing, he was so nervous it took all his resolve to keep moving. Nothing had prepared him for this. Not all he training at the academy nor the tuition from his family. Using chakra string that he attached to a near by rail, he began to ab-sale down the side of the wall around Konohagakure. His heart was beginning to come back under control, but their was still a flutter of something not altogether unpleasant. He was excited. He was finally carrying out the plan that had been two years in the making.

"He did what?" the shout echoed through the Hyuuga compound. Hiashi's earlier annoyance turned first to anger and then to fear. "He must be found and returned as soon as possible, we cannot let the secrets that boys body hold fall into our enemies hands" the slightest trace of panic making it's way into his voice.

"A search is already under way Hiashi-sama" the embarrassed Chunin replied "We'll find him soon, my companion wont be caught by the same trick twice"

A short way into the forest and Jiyuu stopped to take out a scroll hidden with in his tunic. It was difficult to judge when was best to use it... too late and his supplies would be found and moved making the summoning scroll useless, too soon and he would be slowed down more than was necessary. Deciding that it was too risky to wait any longer he activated the scroll. With a puff of smoke a backpack containing all the equipment and rations he couldn't secret about his person when leaving the village appeared. Quickly donning the bag he once again began to run, he needed to make good distance as quickly as possible and then find the river he was making for so he could mask his scent from the dogs he knew Hiashi would have used to track him down... a main branch Hyuuga didn't just get to go missing not even one that was just a Genin. Especially one that was just Genin when you considered the risk of the clan's secrets falling into enemy hands.

Pausing for just a moment to catch his breath Jiyuu activated his Byakugan and started to look for any sign that he was being followed. Nothing. It scared him, this was too easy. Why so little resistance? Just as he was about to be thankful he was so lucky Jiyuu sensed a near by presence. Focusing in on what had caught his attention as he began to run, he almost missed the kunai that came from the other direction. side stepping to avoid the attack, he dropped into a fighting stance.

"I've got you now kid" came the voice of his attacker "Give it up and come back peacefully, it'll be better for the both of us"

"Sorry but I can't do that" Jiyuu replied as he slipped around a tree to hide himself from view. He recognized the shinobi as one of the guards he has taken down earlier, that meant he was aware of his ranged Juuken. Creating a clone to step out from behind the tree and draw the Chunin's attention he prepared for his attack.

"You can't fool me with a simple clone" the shinobi mocked, but Jiyuu was ignoring him. He'd used the replacement technique to get behind his opponent while he was distracted with the clone and was closing in to finish this as quickly as possible. There was no way to know when reinforcements would arrive and it was all Jiyuu could do to take down this guy.

The nameless shinobi realized Jiyuu's location a fraction too late. With speed and precision born out of desperation he charged from behind and struck the tenketsu needed to knock the man out. He knew that the safest option would be to kill the man but he just couldn't do it. He was just a guy doing his job. But if he didn't do something he knew that the shinobi would recover in a few minute and resume the chase. A chase he couldn't keep ahead of forever. Not when those chasing had trained for this for longer. Deciding that damaging the man's legs so he would be unable to walk was the best compromise he struck the blows necessary. There was nothing on the man worth stealing this time, only a few replacement kunai that wouldn't be worth the extra weight.

It took another half an hour to make it to the river Jiyuu had been aiming for, all the while his Byakugan active. He wasn't about to let himself get that close to being caught again and this was the only way he was able to keep track of everything around him. On the bank of the river he quickly made sure the water proof lining of his backpack was properly sealed, before removing a vial of green liquid that smelt strongly of peppermint. Poring the liquid on the ground he smiled. That should stop anyone tracking him by scent from here, buying him some much needed time. He took a deep breath before wading into the fast flowing river and started to swim down stream.

A few miles down the river Jiyuu had no choice but to climb up onto the bank and rest for a while. He was cold, wet and exhausted. His chakra levels where getting very low after the two fights earlier and he had a terrible head ache from keeping his Byakugan active for so long. He took out a field ration bar and ate some of it. Sighing he got to his feet and started walking into the forest, he wanted nothing more than to sleep and rest his eyes, but to do so was to guarantee failure. Finishing the bland rations Jiyuu strengthened his resolve. He couldn't turn back now, it was no easier than he had expected. Sticking to his plan was the only way he would succeed in leaving his village, his hated clan and close minded family behind.

Tsunade was not having a good day... again. She doubted that any Hokage had many good days. The message that Hiashi had sent her was troubling and not a little insulting. It seemed that a newly graduated Genin who happened to be a main house Hyuuga had fled the village. From what she knew of the Hyuuga training methods she couldn't say she was all that surprised. Looking at the boy's file from the academy she could tell he was good but not exceptional. To the Hyuuga that was as good as failure. Still to insinuate that it was her fault was out of order. Resting her head in her hands Tsunade once again regretted taking on the role of Hokage. But regret didn't solve the problem and as much as she hated to admit it Hiashi was right. She would have to dispatch hunter-nin to track down the boy and drag him back to the village, or if need be kill him. That didn't mean she wouldn't be having words with Hiashi about appropriate ways to request aid from a Hokage though.

Jiyuu almost collapsed into the hollowed out tree. It wasn't much cover but it was better than nothing. He was colder, wetter and more exhausted than he had ever been before. He'd been running the rest of the day and half the night. Deciding that he'd just take a moment to rest his eyes before he gathered something to camouflage his chosen hiding place he closed his eyes and was instantly asleep.

The warmth of the sun awoke Jiyuu. He was was moving, being carried... HE WAS BEING CARRIED! This couldn't be good. Calming himself Jiyuu began to take stock of his situation. His hands were tied so that he was unable to make hand seals. His feet too were bound. Opening his eyes he saw that he was being carried through a forest. Considering the maximum time it was likely he'd been asleep it would have to be the same forest that he'd been in the night before. That was little comfort though as the forest in question was huge. There was a girl, by the looks of her a few years older than himself walking behind whomever shoulder he was slung over. She was dressed in forest cameo with a headband that identified her as a ninja of the rock and a flack jacket that suggested she was at least Chunin level, though he couldn't be sure. From his carriers build it seemed he was male and from his hight probably a fair bit older than the girl he could see. If the rock used the same style of four man cells Konoha used then it was a good bet he was being carried by the leader of the team who would be a Jounin. This didn't bode well. Not to mention the fact that he had no idea who the other members of the team where or what their goals in Fire country could be. Before he could activate his Byakugan and get a better look at his capturers the girl spoke.

"Akuma-sensei, the brat from the leaf is awake" she had noticed Jiyuu looking at her, drinking in all the details he could. "And he's looking at me funny, we should put him back to sleep"

The man she spoke to, now confirmed as the leader of the group stopped abruptly and dropped Jiyuu to the ground. Propping him up against a tree truck he took out a kunai passing it from hand to hand as he paced in front of the captured Genin. He was dressed in the traditional rock-nin style, black trousers and tunic with one sleeve missing, over which he wore a gray flack jacket. He was well built, with short black hair, peppered with spots of gray. He was past his physical prime but seeing as he was obviously still an active ninja that meant he would no doubt know an impressive number of techniques and be able to use them to full effect. Suddenly kneeling down to bend in close to Jiyuu's face he spoke a little above a whisper but full of killer intent.

"Why should I leave you alive, Konoha scum?"

A smile played across Jiyuu's face for a moment, if he managed to survive this he could end up in quite a good position and if he didn't survive... well he wouldn't have to worry about running anymore and that was something.

"Because I've left my village, I have nothing to do with them anymore" Jiyuu began, pausing for effect before he continued with what he hoped would be a good sales pitch. "And I have several things I can offer in trade for my life, protection and tuition, each of which I need. I only left Konoha yesterday, I may not be the highest ranking ninja but I'm aware of a few secrets that may be helpful in whatever business you have in fire country, even if it is only the lay of the land I could provide valuable information." As he was speaking Jiyuu was glancing around gathering as much information as he could. The rock it seemed did use the same four man teams, the other two shinobi, both male, where almost the exact opposite of the girl. Where they were large and brutish in appearance she was slight and nimble. Just from looking Jiyuu could tell she would rely on speed over strength and vice versa for the two men. It also seemed she was the only one of the three younger ninja that had any attention span at all, the boys had started to pace, obviously impatient to get on with whatever mission had brought them here.

"I'd be more than willing to help you in the aforementioned business and would expect no pay nor recognition for any part I would play" Jiyuu continued, wanting to get everything he needed to say said before they decided to just kill him and be done with it. "And finally, I'm of Konoha's strongest clan, the Hyuuga. I know many of the clans secrets which would be invaluable to your village." To emphasize the point he activated his Byakugan at that moment.

"We already know that your a Hyuuga boy, what's to stop me torturing the information out of you before cutting your precious eyes out? Why should I even consider trading with you?" Akuma spoke in a more normal voice now, but the killing intent wasn't lessening. It seemed to Jiyuu that his offer had sparked some interest but not enough for the older shinobi to accept it yet.

"If you just cut out my eyes you had best hope you have a medic-nin with you to transplant them straight away. I doubt that they would retain any functionality for long once you remove them. Not to mention the fact you would need a suitable candidate to receive them. What a waste it would be for them to go to a ninja who couldn't put them to good use." Jiyuu could see that he had angered the two younger men, but oddly his words appeared to have amused the girl of the group.

"And if you simply cut my eyes out it's a one hit wounder. Keep me alive and you could take me back to your village and start a clan to rival the Hyuuga. You'd remove much of Konoha's strength while gaining a great deal for your own village."

"Hahaha" the Jounin gave a short laugh "you've got guts kid, running at your age and strength, I'm surprised you even made it out of the village"

"I'm somewhat surprised myself, though I did spend two years planning and preparing for the event. This was not a simple flight of fancy"

"We might be able to work out some kind of deal"

"What the hell! How can you believe a word this brat is saying sensei" it was the largest of the two boys who spoke, the other nodding in agreement.

"Don't be stupid Isamu, we can use any information this boy has. His offer isn't unreasonable" Akuma snapped at the boy before turning to face the girl "Shizuka, you're the most observant keep a close eye on our new found friend. We can't afford to fail this mission and I don't want to discover too late that he is a spy after all"

Jiyuu was beginning to feel sorry for the kunoichi. To be paired with the two idiots her team mates seemed to be must drive her crazy. He wouldn't be surprised if all the important, and as a result dangerous jobs got dumped on her simply because her team leader Akuma couldn't trust the dim wits to get the job done. He was so distracted that he almost didn't notice the three hunter-nin closing in on the group.

"incoming" he barked out the warning with as much urgency and sincerity as he could "three hunter..."

"Seeing as Jiyuu-san has altered you to our presence there is little point in hiding any longer" a confident voice spoke as three hunter-nin appeared in a swirl of leaves common to the Konoha style of body flicker, surrounding the group. "I can assure you that the kid is no spy, but his presence has brought your trespass to our attention. Prepare yourself to witness the wrath of Konoha's elite ninja. You cannot win"

In a blink of an eye the kunoichi called Shizuka was behind Jiyuu, cutting his bonds with a kunai. Her speed was as impressive as Jiyuu had suspected it would be.

"Time to prove that what you say is true" she spoke in a steady tone "Word of our presence in fire country cannot reach your former village. Fight with us, these shinobi cannot be allowed to live"


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

No hope for Liberty

Akuma assessed the situation, and it didn't look good. With three elite ninja it was going to be difficult to take down all of them. Still with Isamu here it was do-able. Deciding he should try and take the initiative he began his attack.

Jiyuu could feel his head begin to hurt again from using the Byakugan, he should be resting his eyes, but without it he was next to useless in a fight. As Shizuka settled into a well practiced stance, he took a kunai from his pouch and cut the rope tying his feet. He'd do the best he could to help these rock-nin accomplish there mission and prove to them that he was sincere.

Isamu allowed a smile to creep onto his face as he saw his sensei start the attack. It had been a while since he'd had a good work out and these three shinobi looked like they might even offer some resistance.

"Shizuka" he called to his team mate "you know what to do" it wasn't a question but a statement, this was a maneuver that he had practiced with the kunoichi countless times and this was the perfect time to try it out on opponents strong enough to really test it's destructive power. Charging the shinobi closest to him Isamu began a flurry of hand seals. Forcing fire based chakra into his right hand and earth into his left he started the difficult process of mixing the two elements. As the two chakra's flowed into one another a terrifying change began to come over the young ninja. Cracks appeared on his skin and lava began to ooze out, welling up and as it overflowed spreading out to form a protective layer. As the jutsu was activated the boys eyes took on the look of flames dancing inside crystal orbs. As the lava reached the lower half of his face his teeth of diamond. Isamu's smile widened further at the shocked looks of his enemies. Today was turning out to be a good day after all.

Jiyuu could hardly believe is eyes and they weren't eyes that were prone to lying. The boy he had seen as a brutish fool suddenly looked like the paragon shinobi skill. Conflict it seemed brought the best out of him. With speed that more than matched his own and a fluid grace that was unexpected from his heavy frame his new companion had charged the hunter-nin all the while performing a jutsu that transformed him into lava. The jutsu was obviously protective in nature, but it also looked as if the lava was as hot as the real thing, a feature that would greatly increase the damage he was able to dish out with his taijutsu attacks and would probably harm his opponent if he landed any blows on the rock-nin with his bare hands.

Shizuka forced herself to act fast enough to keep up with her hot headed team mate. His attacks were devastating in there own right, but with her help the Konoha ninja was surely doomed. The best defense against the ninjas lava attacks was to keep at range and if possible use a water based jutsu to cool the lava. Unlucky for these guys she was adept at restraining his victims making movement impossible and so removing any hope of keeping out of range. Forming seals of her own as Isamu charged she placed her hands on the ground and smiled as the shinobi he was aiming for was caught by the the earth swirling up his legs holding him in place. These shinobi didn't seem so elite.

The rock-nin whose name Jiyuu was still yet to learn was circling the final hunter-nin. Neither it seemed had even attempted to land a single blow but instead seemed to be waiting for an opening in the others defenses to make there strike. Seeing as their Jounin-sensei was taking care of one of the attackers and the other two were working together on another it made most sense to Jiyuu to help the nameless Genin with his opponent. Looking closely with his Byakugan he saw that the reason neither was attacking was because they were locked together in a powerful genjutsu. Not the best technique as it made the user as useless as it did the target but useful none the less as it left openings for allies to make attacks, and he was going to do just that. A swift take down to shift the odds further in their favour was the order of the day.

Akuma formed the seals to perform the paralyzing genjutsu Kanashibari no jutsu. With a chuckle the hunter-nin laughed the technique off

"You wont get me with such simple tricks" he taunted.

Akuma smiled as the hunter felt the wave of killer intent coming from behind him, such a simple ninja he thought to himself. It seems Konoha has grown fat and lazy in recent years. The hunter span to face his attacker, believing that he'd somehow used the replacement technique or something similar in order to get behind him. It came as a big surprise to him then when he felt a kunai at his throat from behind. The Akuma he had dismissed as an illusion once he felt the killer intent behind him had in fact been the real one. And he'd managed to double bluff him into turning his back to his attack.

Jiyuu slammed his palm into the base of the hunter-nins neck. The chakra that he pushed into the shinobi damaged the chakra flow around the brain. With little more than a shudder the ninja collapsed to the ground dead. Jiyuu felt the pangs of regret, he'd just killed a man for the first time. He pushed the though to the back of his mind, now was not the time, any distraction would get him killed.

Isamu's super heated fist smashed into his opponent only for it to burst into a cloud of smoke. The ninja had managed to use the replacement technique at the last moment leaving nothing but a transformed log behind. Isamu's whole body was now covered in lava, a heat shimmer was forming around him blurring his image a little. Where the lava had met his finger nails they had turned to diamond in the same way as his teeth had. Casting his gaze about he tried to locate his target.

"Shizuka" he called out "do you see him"

The kunoichi shook her head. Planting her feet firmly on the ground she form a few seals. Concentrating for a minute before speaking.

"He's not on the ground, must be in the trees"

Seeing that his companions had lost sight of their opponent Jiyuu started a quick scan of the area. With his Byakugan it wasn't log before he found him hidden in the trees. Not wanting to leave all the work to his new allies Jiyuu started to sprint towards the tree the man was in. Just before he reached the tree he let loose a hail of senbon needles. As they struck the shinobi Jiyuu pulsed his chakra down the chakra strings in much the same way as he had before when first making his escape from Konoha.

Unlucky for Jiyuu the man he was fighting now wasn't a Chunin caught unawares but a highly skilled Jounin and so his attack was noticed in time for the shinobi to avoid some needles hitting his tenketsu. With a sudden wave of stabbing pain Jiyuu's Byakugan chose that moment to fail. His enhanced senses dropped and his normal vision became blurred. Stumbling to a halt Jiyuu began to panic. What was he going to do? He could hardly see. Shacking his head to try and clear it he saw a red and orange blur making it's way towards him. A fire jutsu no doubt. He jumped to the side in an attempt to avoid it but somehow the flames followed him. As they got closer the heat hit him. If he couldn't avoid them he'd be badly hurt. How were the flames tracking him. As his vision began to clear he realized what it was. The fames rushed up towards him, mere inches away now. Jumping back to avoid the fire again Jiyuu cut the chakra strings that meant he was attached to the Konoha hunter-nin. The flames got to the end of the strings and licked out a little just catching Jiyuu's fingers. With a small yelp of pain Jiyuu gave thanks that it hadn't been worse. Still his head was ponding and he doubted he be able to use his Byakugan for a while yet. This fight was going to be harder than he'd expected.

There was a swirl of leaves as the ninja Akuma was fighting body flickered to a new location. Glancing around he managed to spot his opponent behind him in time to block the shinobis cross cut attack with his kunai, his blade meeting the larger blade of the hunter-nins katana. Using his superior strength the rock Jounin pushed his attacker away. As the Leaf-nin stumbled back Akuma formed a single seal, smiling as his signature clay Golem appeared perfectly positioned to grapple his opponent. Wrapping it's flexible arms around the leaf-nin's arms and fingers the Golem easily restrained the shinobi by letting it's body flow around that of the ninja partly absorbing him into it's body.

Jiyuu's attack had been completely ineffectual in all ways but one. He had highlighted the position of the Hunter-nin to his companions and with the flame attack the shinobi had revealed his position completely. With out a moment of hesitation Isamu leapt into the tree and tackled the ninja, grabbing him around the waist. The heat coming off his body caused the branch he was now standing on to burst into flames. Pushing all his weight forward he forced the leaf-nin to topple out of the tree and plummet to the ground below. As the ninjas skin began to blister the pain became too much and he let out a blood curdling scream only for intensely hot air to rush into his lungs stifling the cry in a few moments as his lungs were burnt from the inside. In moments the hunter-nin had been burnt so badly there was no way he would survive. It was doubtful that even Tsunade could heal the horrendous injuries he had taken from the Molten skin of the rock-nin. Twisting in the air to make sure that the leaf-nin landed below him Isamu grabbed hold of the ninjas head, causing his hair to catch fire and snapped the mans neck in a swift and well practiced movement just before they hit the ground.

With his opponent capture by his clay Golem technique Akuma glanced around to see how the rest of the battle was going. Smiling as he realized that the other two hunter-nin were dead. The young Hyuuga missing-nin looked like shit but he'd been that way when they found him early that morning so it wasn't surprising and his team were fine. Turning back to the shinobi he'd capture he decided to gather some more information before killing him. After all the more he knew the easier his mission would be.

Akuma made quick work of interrogating the captured leaf-nin, he didn't get very much out of him but that was to be expected. After a few minute of torture the leaf-nin gave up a few scraps of information. After that Akuma decided that staying here too long was a bad idea so used his clay Golem to suffocate the man, before letting the chakra infused clay flow back down into the ground.

"Alright lets get this cleaned up as quickly as possible and move out" Akuma barked, instantly mobilizing his team "Bring the bodies over here so I can bury them"

Jiyuu picked himself up and started to help, when his mind caught up with him.

"Wait a moment, these guys have equipment I could make use of. Give me a moment to check them over."

Akuma wasn't too happy about the delay but Jiyuu only spent a few moments searching the three dead shinobi. He took the Katana the man who fought Akuma had used as well as some scrolls, a box of coloured rice of each of the men and a few other useful looking things.

"Akuma-sensei, these shinobi all have radios on them" Jiyuu pointed out "We might be able to patch into the Konoha frequencies and listen in on their communications. Help us get an idea of enemy positions"

"But we don't know what frequencies Konoha use" Isamu butted in, his voice a manner showing he clearly didn't think much of Jiyuu. "Unless such valuable information is entrusted to Genin like you"

"Your right thats not something a Genin would know, but as I've said before, I spent two years planning for my escape." Jiyuu stopped for a moment while he retrieved a piece of paper from his bag. "I managed to narrow now the frequencies to the twenty most commonly used through a combination of guess work, my Byakugan and overhead conversations"

"Well well, your more useful than I first guessed" the Jounin complimented "These will be most useful, but now we really do need to get a move on"

When Jiyuu was done Akuma used an earth jutsu to bury the three bodies with out leaving a trace that the earth had been disturbed. A useful jutsu that Jiyuu made sure to note as something he wanted to learn. After covering their tracks as best they could, the five of them were quickly on their way.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

A/N This chapter means every thing I have written so far is up here so don't expect any more updates for a while as I need to a) revise for exams b) write something instead of just polish up what I wrote a week ago. Read, enjoy and feel free to post comments.

No hope for Liberty

Later that night after traveling for a few miles Akuma stopped the party and they set up camp. Still not trusting Jiyuu he set up a watch rota that didn't include him. Taking out some field rations similar to the ones Jiyuu had brought with him from Konoha Akuma motioned for the young ninja to sit with him.

"Well we might as well continue from where we left of before we were rudely interrupted by our leaf-nin friends." the older man said "If I recall you want sanctuary from Konoha, training and to be introduced to my villages elders so you can petition to be adopted as a shinobi in their service."

Jiyuu ran the list over in his mind and decided that it summed up what he was after well enough.

"Yeah thats what I need. In return I offer to help you complete what ever mission you have in fire country, including any information that I possess. I will also gladly train with you and your students so that you can devise methods of defeating my clans jutsus and bloodline abilities." It took all of Jiyuu's composure not to give away the fear he felt at this moment. This was the luckiest break he'd had his whole life and he didn't want to blow it, at the same time he didn't want to get screwed over by the rock-nin and end up in a worse position than he had been in in Konoha.

"What about the secrets of the Hyuuga clan you mentioned earlier? I'm offering a lot. Your help on this mission isn't going to buy you all that."

"I'll give up my secrets to your village elders if they agree to adopt me and not before." Being he's only bargaining chip of real value Jiyuu wasn't about to give it up so easily. Akuma considered the deal for a moment before agreeing.

"Very well, but you better keep your half of the deal, and I expect good value out of those eyes of your in the up coming mission."

After that he ordered that they get some rest which was how Jiyuu found himself huddled under a blanket looking at the starts a few feet away from Shizuka who had the first watch. Finding himself nervously looking over at the girl he wanted to say something. Desperately trying to think of a way to break the ice he was shocked when she spoke.

"Can you use those eyes of yours to have a look around for me?" she said only a little above a whisper.

"Do you really need me to?" he responded a little sharper than he had meant to "It's just I've been using them almost non-stop for the last day and a half. It's giving me pretty bad headaches not to mention they completely failed earlier today when we fought those hunter-nin"

"Your pretty weak for a ninja aren't you" the rock kunoichi remarked, her comment filled with contempt "Don't worry I don't need your help, it just would have been useful thats all"

"Thats a just a bit inconsistent don't you think? Asking for help then calling me weak"

"hmmpft, I'm just giving you opportunities to prove your not like the rest of your useless shinobi. You should thank me. I mean those hunter-nin of yours were a walk over. I'm surprised they even made Genin." Shizuka was certain she'd get Jiyuu worked up as she began to rant about the quality of his former village. She hadn't had a chance for fun like this in a good while and it sure made keeping guard that much less boring. "Anyway a good ninja knows to take any help they can get, better off humble and alive than proud and dead."

"I'd prefer if you stopped referring to Konoha ninja as my companions, I'm no longer associated with them" the coldness of Jiyuu's response startled Shizuka. She'd expected outrage.

"On-top of that your assessment of the strength of the ninja we fought today is incorrect. they were far from weak." Jiyuu continued, all of the emotion carefully suppressed from his voice and mannerism. "All you witnessed was three Jounin out matched in a straight up fight. When you consider that their purpose was to quickly track me down and return me to Konoha you'll see they were more than capable of the task. However when I spotted them I forced them into an impossible situation. They couldn't back off as they would have preferred as I was with you and they couldn't risk me falling into enemy hands, while at the same time they couldn't fight us and win as your team has superior fighting skill in an even fight and they were out numbered. In the end they chose to attempt to fight us head on. The plan failed and I suspect that pride had no small part to play in their decision to try and fight, but that doesn't mean they are bad at what they do." Like most Hyuuga Jiyuu was adept at reading people. Even with out his Byakugan activated he could tell that Shizuka was teasing him, trying to get him to make a fool out of himself. Well he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction.

"Tell me, what would you have done differently in their situation?" Jiyuu asked.

"I'd have backed off and chosen a more opportune time to attack, unlike you leaf-nin I wouldn't let pride get the better of me" Shizuka retorted. "As I just said better off humble and alive."

"And again I'll ask you to refrain from associating me with my former village, I have nothing to do with them anymore." as if to prove his point Jiyuu took off his headband and scored a deep line through the leaf village symbol. "And you forget that they were under order from the most powerful clan in Konoha, they couldn't allow me to spend any length of time in the company of enemies due to the risk of me exposing Hyuuga secrets."

"I don't get it. What makes the Hyuuga so powerful? No offense, but you don't seem so strong." as Shizuka questioned him Jiyuu noticed she was letting herself go, dropping the mask that she had hidden her true self behind until now. Grinning slightly he began the best explanation he could manage.

"The strength of the Hyuuga is in a few half decent techniques, a hell of a lot of misdirection and having scary looking eyes"

"Scary looking eyes" Shizuka laughed as she parroted Jiyuu's words back at him. "come on if thats all it takes to be the most powerful clan in konoha it must be a really weak village"

"It's the misdirection that makes them the strongest. The clans willingness to be the most dishonorable group of people in all Konoha if not all of fire country that allows them to intimidate the rest of the village, while appearing to be the most noble. Generations of paranoia have kept the secrets of our clan safe and so the Juuken and it's related jutsus as well as the abilities of the Byakugan continue to appear far superior than they really are. It is this secrecy that means they cannot allow me to escape with you. I can reveal the weakness's of my clans fighting style. The weakness's are small, not the kind of thing you are likely to come across in a fight. At least not in time for it to matter, but they are there and once you are aware of them you can devise strategies that make use of the fact. In short we are the strongest because we have done the best at keeping our secrets secret and so very few people know how to beat us."

The rest of the two hours Shizuka was on watch seemed to Jiyuu to be over in a flash as they chatted about their homes. What it was like to train in their respective villages. What clans their were and what abilities they had. Both were careful not to give too much way, but the mood was such that they still managed to say a few things they probably shouldn't have. When the Genin that Jiyuu had learnt was called Daisuke came to releave Shizuka she beckoned for Jiyuu to follow her.

"Promise not to think anything perverted and I'll let you sleep in my tent" Shizuka's speech was hesitant, hardly even a whisper as if she didn't dare be heard by the other rock-nin. "It's too big for me which means it gets cold at night. You'd be freezing out here with just a blanket as well."

"Thank you Shizuka-sempai" Jiyuu kept his voice low, respecting Shizuka's wish to keep this from her team. He'd taken to using the honorific after she had told him a little about her and his suspicions that she was older than him were confirmed. She wasn't a Chunin yet but her team would be taking an exam in order to get promoted in less than a month so it seemed proper to Jiyuu. On top of that Shizuka had giggled when he first said it and was still unable to suppress a slight blush. With any luck Jiyuu thought, he'd made a friend.

"I promise that I wont do anything... how was it you put it? Perverted?"

With that the two of them climbed into the tent and were asleep almost as soon as their eyes were closed.

Jiyuu awoke at dawn. He'd slept a deep dreamless sleep and felt refreshed. Another night like this and he'd be fully recovered from his flight from Konoha. All he had to do was avoid getting in to fight today. All! He couldn't help but wounder where this optimism had come from. Rolling over it became clear. Last night his conversation with Shizuka had eased his mind, put his fears to rest, even if only for a while. He'd never really had the opportunity to make friends in Konoha. He'd been forced to train long and hard at mastering the Juuken and wasn't meant to associate with the commoners even if he somehow found himself with the time to do so. He couldn't help but hope that Shizuka would become his first real friend. Gathering his things he crawled out of the tent, only to be met by the enraged face of Isamu.

"What the hell are you doing in Shizuka's tent? What the hell did you do to her?" The large Genin was practically screaming and would have woke the rest of the team if it wasn't for the fact that they were already awake, except for Shizuka who's eyes fluttered open at the noise. Wincing at the volume Isamu had seen fit to use Jiyuu did his best to answer in a way that would defuse the situation knowing full well the older ninja could kill him with ease.

"She invited me to sleep in her tent last night as both of us would have been cold otherwise." Keeping a steady flow of words but remaining outwardly as calm as he could, Jiyuu hurried on. "It was nothing more than a mutually beneficial arrangement that means both of us got a better nights sleep and so will be more effective in the day to come."

Shizuka chose that moment to intervene.

"Your not jealous are you Isamu" she giggled, sarcasm positively dripping from her every word. Jiyuu was certain the giggle was put on and could tell not only that she was teasing her team mate but that she enjoyed doing it immensely. He knew that kunoichi got taught how to manipulate men by playing on their desires but he'd never seen it in action until this moment. A skill he was envious of but somewhat glad he'd never have to use in a mission. To back up her teasing she flung her arms around Jiyuu's neck and fluttered her eyes suggestively. Giggling again she let Jiyuu in for a world of pain.

"Don't be shy Jiyuu-kun, you can tell him what we really did last night."

Shizuka's teasing clearly getting to Isamu, his face contorted into a rage filled grimace.

"I'll kill you, you bastard." he yelled as he grabbed Jiyuu by the neck of his robes, dragging him out of the tent. "Come on, right here right now. We fight it out."

Jiyuu let out a sigh of relief when he saw Akuma get up and walk over to them scowling at Isamu.

"Stop that Isamu and try and be quiet for once" scolding his student with an almost bored tone suggesting it was a common occurrence. "Your a ninja. try and act like one. Did you think I was unaware that Jiyuu was sleeping in Shizuka's tent last night? Don't you remember me telling her to keep an eye on our new addition to the team? Not only that all the reasons Jiyuu just gave you are both true and valid. I'd appreciate it if you didn't let your childish hormones effect your work."

Once Isamu calmed down, much to the disappointment of Shizuka who'd been laughing the whole time, they broke camp and got on their way. On the way Akuma lectured them on some principles of chakra use. Namely that of elemental constitution, something Jiyuu had heard of but never really been taught about, nor so interested that he'd looked it up himself. It turned out that every shinobi had a favored element and it was easier to master jutsu that used that element. Special pieces of paper were able to indicate what element was your preferred by how your chakra effected it. Akuma handed a small piece of the specially made paper to Jiyuu.

"Go ahead, give it a go. Just channel a bit of chakra into it"

Pushing a small amount of chakra into the paper Jiyuu watched as it became wet.

"Considering what the five elements are I presume that means my favoured is water."

"Thats right, a shame really as I only know a couple of very basic water jutsus."

A short while later the group stopped for a while. Akuma set Isamu and Daisuke sparring and much to the annoyance of Isamu, had Shizuka teach Jiyuu her earth binding technique. Between attempts at the jutsu which was quite different from anything Jiyuu had learnt previously he questioned Akuma about the mission that they were on.

"Akuma-sensei can I ask you about your mission" Jiyuu started "After all if I'm to be of any help I need to know what your trying to achieve."

"Your right of course, I can't expect to get anything useful out of having you along unless I fill you in." Jiyuu could tell the Jounin was reluctant to tell him what the mission was and didn't blame him. After all Jiyuu could be a spy and if he was disclosing his mission brief could be disastrous for Akuma. Still after the fight with the hunter-nin Jiyuu had hoped he'd be trusted a bit more and the Jounin obviously trusted him enough to teach him jutsus.

"We're going to retrieve a very important scroll from a hidden location." Akuma explained "It's a summoning contract scroll that Konoha doesn't want anyone to have access to. By stealing it we would be able to have our more powerful ninja sign the contact and so grant them the ability to gain powerful allies in combat."

"I see, but you noticeably implied that Konoha does even want to have access to the scroll it's self and you also failed to mention what creature the summoning contract would be with." Jiyuu knew he was pressing the point but he wanted to know as much as he could about what he was getting into. "I know you don't trust me and your right to do so, but if I am ill informed I cannot be as useful as I could be. I urge you to fill me in on all the details."

"Ok I tell you. We're going after the Scorpion summon contract. They're poisonous, heavily armoured and ill tempered. Difficult to control at best, before Konoha got a hold of the scroll several small countries were completely decimated by shinobi who thought that they could make use of the Scorpion boss." Jiyuu attempted the earth bind jutsu again as Akuma spoke, managing to shift a small amount of earth he was making progress but it was slower than he would have liked. Panting slightly from the exertion Jiyuu forced out his next question between deep breaths.

"I still don't... get it. Isn't... summoning the boss of a summon creature type meant to use... a large amount of chakra, surely only powerful ninja would be able to summon the Scorpion boss. How come he's so hard to control?"

"As far as I'm aware there isn't a single case of the Scorpion boss obeying the orders of a shinobi, but that doesn't matter because we don't intend to summon him. The Scorpion boss is said to have a vast number of children all of whom are powerful in there own right. There should be more than enough for a large strike force to have a summon each. Consider the increase in our military might having the scroll would mean. Earth county would be able to conquer all the surrounding counties with ease and Fire county would fall with a little luck and a lot of planning."

"Ok, I'm not sure why you would want an such difficult to control summons, but I said I'd help you with whatever mission you had so I will. Where is the scroll located, I presume that we are making our way there now?"

"Our sources say that it's hidden in a cave near the top of the mountain called Urami, but now I have told you what you need to know and we must get moving again."

With that the group continued on their way towards the objective of their mission, the Scorpion summoning contract.

Jiyuu was glad that Akuma kept him occupied the whole time either by lecturing him on some piece of theory or having him practice the earth bind jutsu. Even with that his thoughts still drifted to darker things. A faceless shinboi of the leaf, struck from behind, killed. For what? So that he could live instead? He always knew that this day must come. All shinobi kill as part of their work, but in the end this was a death that didn't have to have happened. He could have stayed. Fought for his freedom from with in the system as it were. Instead he ran. Abandoned his home, a traitor to his people. Well he could admit that treachery was a part of being a ninja, but when it came down to it he felt like a mindless murderer not a shinobi doing his job. With great effort of will Jiyuu pushed these dark thoughts to the back of his mind. Depression was the last thing he needed now. All that would mean is another pointless death.


	4. Chapter 4

No hope for Liberty

When he wasn't on the edge of depression, Jiyuu was able to pick up quite a bit of the group dynamic. Akuma was as he'd suspected earlier past his physical prime being in his mid forties, but he was a veteran of the third shinobi war as well as countless other conflicts and missions. His repertoire of jutsus was impressive as was his tactical thinking, making him a perfect teacher.

Isamu's specialty was in close quarter combat. His lava skin jutsu, Jiyuu was disappointed to learn, was a bloodline. More accurately it was his abilities to easily mix fire and earth aspected chakra that was his bloodline limit, but that meant Jiyuu would be unable to achieve something like the lava skin even if he could somehow manage to mix the two chakras at all. His jutsus tended to be flashy and destructive, a feature that Jiyuu found distasteful, but he was invaluable in a head on fight so he did his best to ignore it. Still it puzzled him a little why someone so loud and flashy was on a mission deep into enemy territory. Beyond his abilities in combat it became quite obvious to Jiyuu that he had a crush on Shizuka. He was highly protective and got jealous at the slightest attention she would give to someone else.

Shizuka herself was a tease pure and simple. She was aware of Isamu's feelings and toyed with him for no other discernible reason than she could. Her own skills were much closer to what Jiyuu considered to be proper shinobi skills. She was skilled in survival and stealth as well as a few jutsus allowed her to make observations in ways that others could not. In combat she would use trickery and slight of hand to get the upper hand, though she was best when teamed up with a stronger fighter which was why she was so good in tandem with Isamu.

Finally there was Daisuke. He was something of an enigma. Quiet and a little anti-social, all Jiyuu could really work out was that his specialty was genjutsu and that he didn't approve of Isamu's fawning over Shizuka. His role in the group seemed to be evening the odds. He was adapt at spotting and neutralizing genjutsus as well as keeping a couple of enemies occupied until one of the others was in a position to deal with them.

The team was able to make good progress over the next few days. Using the stolen radios and the list of common frequencies Jiyuu had given him, they were able to get a heads up when enemy teams where in the area allowing them to slip away before they were found.

It took two days for them to get to the base of Mount Urami. During that time Akuma had continued to take a brake in the middle of the day to train his students and lectured to them as they traveled. Most of his lectures were on the more advanced aspects of chakra control and manipulation. There was much that Jiyuu already knew simply because his was trained in the Juuken but also some interesting points that he didn't because they were irrelevant to the fighting style as far as the Hyuuga elders were concerned. His elemental aspect had seemed an important thing to know when he first heard about it but Jiyuu had given up trying to work it into the Juuken as there was simply nothing of value he could think to do with it. On top of that he didn't have anyone to train him in water jutsus so disappointed he used his time to work on other things.

Akuma had come to realize that Jiyuu's control was brilliant but his chakra reserves were dismally small as was his arsenal of jutsus and so while he had the other members of the group practice things like tree climbing and water walking he made Jiyuu do physically exhausting exercises to build up his stamina and as a result his chakra reserves.

At night before they went to bed Akuma had the four young shinobi practice jutsus and spar. As promised Jiyuu showed each of the rock-nin the Juuken style and explained what the different strikes would do if he put chakra into them. Isuma found it difficult to believe that Jiyuu could stop his flow of chakra and as Jiyuu refused to perform the actual strikes on him he was a somewhat overconfident and not a little condescending towards Jiyuu in this part of their training.

"Your telling me that a weakling like you could stop me from using chakra with a few stupid palm strikes" Isamu snorted in disbelief.

"Yes" Jiyuu snapped back "Thats the whole point of the Juuken. a skilled user can shut down an opponents enter chakra system if need be. On top of that your internal organs are interlinked with you chakra system so these stupid palm strikes as you call them cause massive amounts of internal damage when done for real."

"I don't believe you. If you can really do this show me?"

"I'm not about to cause you injuries that would mean you need to get hospital care. That would ruin the mission we're on or had you forgot that your deep in enemy territory."

"We're not on a mission, me and my team are. We don't need you. Why don't you just piss off?"Stop it you two." Akuma yelled once again that evening. "Isamu it's my team not yours and I happen to have seen the Juuken in action. It is not to be underestimated, Jiyuu is right not to use it on you for real."

At that Akuma stopped the training session that evening and ordered the team to get some rest, hoping that things would be better between the two boys by morning. He wanted to make the summit of the mountain and get the scroll before the end of the next day. They'd have to make a quick pace in the morning if they were to do that and childish fights would help.

Jiyuu climbed into Shizuka's tent and slumped down next to the girl. The feeling of friendship he'd felt on the first night with the rock-nin had only strengthened over the days since and now he was wondering if it was more than that. Back in the academy his class mates had played at having crushes on one another but it was never real. Not as far as Jiyuu could tell. It was just a popularity contest. Who was the coolest guy or the cutes girl. More often than not everyone 'liked' the same person because they were the flavour of the week. It wasn't real and Jiyuu had found the whole thing pointless.

This was different though, Shizuka certainly wasn't what his class mates would have called cute. She was far too rough around the edges. Her short hair was cut in such a way that she could have passed for a boy with only a little bit of a disguise and if the mud on her face and cloths was any indication she'd been traveling in the same cloths and without washing for at least a week. He'd never seen her change or wash at any rate. But none of that mattered. She was open and friendly now that she'd gotten to know him. And even though she was a terrible tease, just being near her lightened Jiyuu ever more frequently dark moods.

The reports coming into the Hokage were worse than she could have imagined. Not only had the Hunter-nin unit she'd dispatched failed and all been killed but the Hyuuga brat had teamed up with some rock-nin. At least one of the Hunters had been killed by the runaway which meant she'd have to up his criminal status from deserter to murderer. The only good news was it seemed that they were using some stolen radios to avoid further conflict. Now that she knew this it was possible to give out misinformation while switching to a rarely used frequency for the real communications. With both the village council and Hiashi breathing down her neck she really needed to resolved this soon.

Calling in Kurenai and Asuma she began to brief the two Jounin on their team's latest mission. Tracking and retrieval of a C-ranking missing-nin protected by four enemy shinobi.

Neji didn't know what to feel. He was angry that a certain scroll had been stolen from the Hyuuga clan library because that meant he couldn't work with it. At the same time he couldn't wait to see Hiashi's face when he was told.

Making his way through the Hyuuga compound he couldn't help but wonder why the boy had taken the thing. Perhaps to sell it secrets. Giving away dangerous information such as was on the scroll could mean the end of his clan. Neji didn't dare hope that the boys intentions were benevolent, that they shared the same end goal. Putting these thoughts to the back of his mind Neji arrived at his destination. Knocking on his cousins door he waited for an answer.

"Co..Come in" came the stuttered reply only just load enough that he could hear it. Since their first Chunin exam Neji had gotten to know Hinata better, taking the time to see past her shyness. What he had discovered is that it was only her lack of confidence that made her appear so weak. He wasn't sure that she'd ever be able to change the fact that she was so shy. It was such an ingrained part of her personality, but now after being shown up by Naruto of all people he was at least willing to try and help her change if that was what she wanted. Entering her room he began explaining what he had discovered and how they should go about breaking the news to her father.

As the first rays of morning sunlight crept over the horizon Jiyuu slipped out of Shizuka's tent. Once again he was met by the disapproving glances of Isamu. After the first time Isamu had discovered that the two of them shared a tent he hadn't tried to cave in his skull but only because Akuma had made him promise not to. It didn't help that Shizuka was still having far too much fun teasing him about it, constantly hinting that they did things together at night. Worse still was that Jiyuu was beginning to wish that they did do those things together which would make him blush adding to Isamu's belief that the teasing was true.

Quickly packing up, the team set out at the fastest pace they could manage, using the radios to keep track of where the Konoha ninja were. Seeing as they had a good idea of where the enemy was Jiyuu only used his Byakugan to do a quick check every half an hour or so, allowing his eyes to rest for the most part.

Team 8 moved quickly through the forest. Akamaru had picked up Jiyuu's sent at the sight of the battle with the hunter-nin. They were a few days behind as the battle was only discovered the day before but now they could make up the distance as the trespassers had moved slowly so as to avoid notice. Hinata was distracted. She couldn't help but feel that she had betrayed Jiyuu's trust. When Neji had informed her of the scroll he had stolen, a scroll she was well aware he was going to take, she'd had no choice but to report it to Hiashi. Neji thought he was helping her. A discovery like that was bound to make him think better of her. Even if the only reason Neji hadn't reported it himself was that he shouldn't have been looking for the scroll in the first place, it was still an act of kindness on his part.The problem was Hinata didn't want to be on this mission. She wanted Jiyuu to escape and with the scroll he had stolen. She wanted it because perhaps he would achieve what generations of Branch house Hyuuga had failed to. perhaps he could change the fate of her clan.

They reached the summit of mount Urami by early evening and began the search for the cave which held the scroll. The team worked quickly as they wanted to find it before it got too dark to see well. To that end Jiyuu made much use of his Byakugan and in a little under two hours they had Located the cave where the scroll was thought to be. Now however came the hard part, getting the scroll. It wasn't only hidden in a remote cave but as expected it was guarded by traps and seals put there by some of the most powerful ninja loyal to fire country.


End file.
